The History of Japanese Shakuhachi with Hanzaburo Araki

There are few sounds more quintessentially Japanese than the Shakuhachi, an end-blown bamboo flute. Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum is pleased to welcome Hanzaburo Araki for an introduction to its music, history, and pedagogy.

This intimate presentation blends historical overview with live demonstration, offering audiences a rare window into a musical tradition with no parallel in Western music. Attendees are also invited to try the shakuhachi themselves. Kodo Araki the 6th is a living connection to this music dating back to the middle of the 18th century.

For the Araki family, the shakuhachi is more than a musical instrument; it is a conduit handed down from father to son for generations, as much a tool for artistic expression as it is for cultural storytelling. Araki will perform on an instrument made by his great-great grandfather, whose family played a direct role in preserving the tradition through the upheaval of the Meiji…